What are the differences between 100, 120, 180, 200, 240 yarns and which fabrics are the most luxurious?
Yarns are distinguished by thread count and dimension. Thread count is the term used to define the number of yarns per square centimeter of woven fabric and is a combination of vertical yarns, known as warp yarns, and horizontal yarns, known as weft yarns. The dimension of the yarn refers to the thickness of the yarns that are weaved together to create the fabric. A higher number indicates a finer yarn. Finer yarns can be spun only from the thinnest, smoothest, longest cotton fibers (known as extra long staple) and the finer the yarn the higher it's thread count.
ex. 120/2: the first number indicates the thread count of the yarn.
The number following the slash indicates whether it refers to a single-ply yarn or a two-ply yarn.
ex. 80: single-ply yarn and not two-ply that would be indicated with /2.
Weights, intended per linear meter, start from about 110 grams for a fine voile and can reach 300 for a winter panama and between these two extremes a wide range of weights to allow the choice of the most suitable fabric. Also, the weight of a fabric is linked to it's thread count, that is, with the fineness of the yarn based on the relation between weight and length. The thread count indicates the number of hanks (840 yards) in a pound of cotton. The higher the thread count, the finer the yarn and the greater it's worth. A fabric with a high thread count (over 100) can make a fabric with a heavy weight in grams light.